Book picks similar to
A Texas State of Mind by Ann DeFee


romance
contemporary-romance
freebie
romantic-suspense

Deceived


Danielle Pays - 2019
    Their current demand? A prominent local winery-and the land it sits on. No doubt it would only take one visit for him to charm the owners into selling.But his plan hits a snag the second he lays eyes on the alluring woman, dead-set on maintaining her family legacy. For the first time, he can see a forever with a woman. A forever that’s threatened when she discovers who he really is.Then the unthinkable happens: Declan is arrested for a catastrophic attack, threatening both their livelihoods and futures. And even though he maintains he’s innocent, Brooke’s trust is stretched so thin she doesn’t know what to believe.Or who’s really to blame. Who do you trust when everyone lies?This is a steamy, stand-alone, HEA romantic suspense.

Blinded


Lyz Kelley - 2016
    A second chance at love. Somebody killed Joey Gaccione’s brother. After a ten-year absence, the big city detective returns home to Colorado for the funeral knowing he will be pressured to find Sheriff Sam’s killer. Joey’s instincts say whoever murdered his brother is part of something more sinister than the Elkridge deputies can handle. Mara Dijocomo's dreams died the night a drunk driver killed her parents and sister, and left her permanently wounded. After months of therapy, she’s finally adjusting to her new reality while working to save her mother’s floral business. When the first boy she ever loved walks back into her life, she wonders if she and Joey are getting a second chance to find love. As Joey and Mara’s love blooms, the evidence becomes clear the local deputies are either ill-equipped to comprehend what’s happening, or someone’s covering up a crime. Joey and Mara fight to balance between their careers, family, and their renewed love until the FBI contacts Joey ultimately tipping the scales. If you like a steamy romance, deep emotional topics, a thread of mystery, and a cozy happy ending then BLINDED is for you. The first book in the ELKRIDGE SERIES debuts a quirky cast of characters and begins introducing evidence to solve Sheriff Sam's murder.

Deadly Betrayal


Lee Anne Jones - 2016
    Two broken hearts. The threat may be closer than they think. Country music star January Winters knew the rise to fame would be hard, but she never thought it would be deadly. When a stalker’s attempts go from creepy to lethal, even the fearlessly independent Jan gives into her producer’s demands that they hire a bodyguard. But that was before she realized who would be guarding her body… A knee injury might have ruined his football career, but it didn’t stop Dino Machiavelli from becoming the best bodyguard in Vegas. He can literally pick and choose his assignments—and he never picks guarding diva celebrities. At least not until his boss makes one assignment impossible for him to refuse and he finds himself too close for comfort with the one girl that ripped out his heart fifteen years ago. Just as Dino and Jan start to wonder if it may not be too late to rekindle old feelings, the stalker’s actions escalate. It appears the threat may be closer to Jan than she ever imagined and now she has to wonder, just exactly who in her inner circle can she really trust? NOTE: This book was previous published with the same title under my pen name Lee Anne Jones.

The Littlest Cowboy


Maggie Shayne - 1996
    So when a baby lands on the doorstep of the Texas Brand, his first question is which younger brother is in for a butt-kicking? But the little fellow isn't named after Ben, or Wes, or Adam, or Elliot. The little feller is named after him – Garrett Ethan Brand–according to the note his mama left behind.He’s still racking his brain to figure it all out, when a woman shows up at the ranch in the dead of night, spitting, fighting mad, and accusing Garrett of murdering her sister and stealing the baby!Chelsea is confused, heartbroken, and too mad to think straight, and the same trouble that found her poor sister is right on her tail. But of all the places she and the baby could've wound up, Garrett thinks this ranch is the best one.Because this is one family that knows how to pull together and trouble doesn't stand a chance against The Brands of Texas.

Mr. Write


Lisa Clark O'Neill - 2014
    The sole grandson of the most powerful man in town, Tucker wants to understand why his recently deceased mother fled Sweetwater all those years ago with little more than the clothes on their backs. What he discovers will rock not only his own foundation, but that of the town itself. Sarah Barnwell is a woman with her own ghosts to face, and they’re there to greet her on her first night back in town. The bully who made her already rocky childhood a kind of living hell is all grown up now, but he still has Sarah in his sites. At first antagonistic, Sarah and Tucker eventually realize that a shared property line isn’t all they have in common. And that roots, whether the plant be beautiful or deadly, run deeper than you think.

The Problem with Planning Love


Claire Cain - 2020
    Divorcé. Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army.All titles I’ve come to terms with, even if I didn’t see those first two coming.I never imagined making a military move to Germany as a single parent. What else I never imagined? Having an insane spark like I’ve never felt with my son’s kindergarten teacher.Livie’s a singular force of light and beauty, and I’ve never wanted someone so much. But after what happened last time, I can’t escape the dread of dragging a new wife into this life and failing again.Besides, our lives are too different. Our plans don’t match. We definitely shouldn’t date and absolutely can’t afford to catch feelings.Everything changed the day I walked into that classroom. And now the only thing that scares me more than trying for another chance at love is living with regret if I don’t.The Problem with Planning Love is a dual point of view romance told in first person that will give you all the sizzle and heat but keep it sweet.

Mending Fences with the Billionaire


Lorin Grace - 2018
    Mandy needs one last photo to complete her MFA project, digitally transforming the deteriorating Crawford mansion into the stately building it could have been. But a fence stands in her way. Determined to keep land developers and paparazzi from his great-grandfather’s estate, Daniel Crawford has taken to chasing off intruders by any means possible. No one is going to cross the fence into his land. Or his heart.

Too Quiet In Brooklyn


Susan Russo Anderson - 2013
    It's too quiet, at least for Brooklyn, so twenty-two-year-old Fina Fitzgibbons is not surprised when she stumbles upon a throttled woman in the heart of Brooklyn Heights and discovers that the dead woman's four-year-old grandson is also missing. She begins a wild hunt for the strangler-kidnapper, Ralph. During the chase, she resists falling in love with her boyfriend, Denny, an NYPD patrol officer, steps on the toes of Detective First Grade Jane Templeton, and uncovers secrets about her own past. In the end, Ralph has a deadly surprise for Fina.

Declan


Amanda Torrey - 2017
    Declan's brothers assume their father is off on a bender or finally smartened up enough to want to escape their wicked stepmother, but Declan knows in his gut that his father wouldn't leave the family dairy farm. Returning home to Healing Springs isn't an easy decision, but Declan can't ignore the feeling that his something tragic has swept his father away from the farm. When Declan encounters the fiery vegan activist who can't stop herself from sneaking onto the farm in a misguided attempt to liberate the cows, he's forced to confront all of his previously held beliefs. He can't fight the spark between them, but can he trust her? As clues into their father's disappearance point toward her as a potential suspect, Declan is forced to confront his beliefs all over again.

Colorado Dreams


Zoe Matthews - 2015
    They each choose a job that they are interested in, and along the way, they each find love and romance. Sierra has been a widow for two years. She has been busy raising her twin daughters on the family ranch when her father is killed. As their family attorney reads her father’s will, she learns that each member will receive a large inheritance, but there is a catch. All six of them must reside on the ranch for a period of six months, together, in order to receive it. Logan, also a widower, has been hired to help with the horses and he brings along his own little family. Can Sierra and Logan learn to create a new family of their own and find love for each other along the way?

If I Didn't Care


Kait Nolan - 2016
    While he might once have dreamed of a different future for them, everything changed the day her father tried to kill them both. Determined to keep her safe, Judd put his feelings aside and turned his focus to protecting her, always.She leads a double lifeNobody in their small town would ever dream that Autumn, Wishful's friendly librarian, is really successful erotic romantic suspense author, Rumor Fairchild. No one knows that the swoon-worthy hero of her series is based on her best friend, Judd. He's been fulfilling her rescue fantasies for years, and now she's ready to catapult them out of the friend zone to make her real life romance come true.Their nightmare returnsBut when the past comes full circle and Autumn's father returns to Wishful, even the power of Judd's badge isn't enough to keep her safe from the madman. If he wants the chance at a future with the one girl he's always loved, Judd may have to toss everything he's worked for aside to do the one job that matters.

Love in the Rockies: Sweet romance on an unforgettable train journey (True Love Travels)


Poppy Pennington-Smith - 2020
    But she’s stuck in sleepy Oxford. Every day is the same. Nothing ever changes.Until, completely out of the blue, Beth gets the chance of a lifetime.She’s sent to Canada to compete in an infamous travel writing competition. Winning would propel her to stardom and make all her dreams come true. It would change everything…The problem is, she’s up against swoon-worthy Canadian, Blake O’Brien. And Blake is not the kind of guy who gives up without a fight.As finalists, Beth and Blake are forced to travel together through the Rocky Mountains and across Canada. And slowly, as Beth’s self-belief soars, she begins to see Blake in a different light. Perhaps he’s not the brash, arrogant, sarcastic guy she thought he was? Perhaps he’s exactly what she needs…But as the competition comes to a head, and loyalties are tested, will Beth and Blake realise they simply have to be together? Or will their rivalry, and their very different lives, get in the way? 'Love in the Rockies' is a sweet, clean, romance novel with no cliff hangers and a HEA. It is the first in the True Love Travels series by Poppy Pennington-Smith.

Antihero


C.J. Pinard - 2016
    She's trying to stay clean and walk a straight path. Is the chemistry storming between them enough to keep them together? Ellis I did my time, both on the streets and in the Marine Corps. Now that I’m out, I’m feeling sort of lost. I need to find a job and get past this disability the ugliness of war has left me with. The only thing that makes me feel grounded and stable is Talia Logan. She’s a red-haired breath of fresh air when I feel like I’m drowning in nightmares and responsibilities. So why can’t I just commit to her – make her mine? Because I’m jacked up and no good for anyone. Especially her. Talia The only part of my past I’m proud of is how I beat the addiction that almost killed me. I’m on the right path to a clean life, a college degree, and new friends. Ellis Anderson keeps coming over to worship my body and whisper sweet things in my ear that keep me hanging onto him. But he’s bad for me. A guy with too many demons that I don’t have the time or energy to deal with. So why can’t I just tell him to get out of my life? Because I’ve traded one addiction for another, that’s why. Antihero is book 1 in the Imperfect Heroes series. For readers 18+. Reading order: Antihero (Imperfect Heroes 1) Above Protection (Imperfect Heroes 2) Beneath Broken (Imperfect Heroes 3) Beyond Love (Imperfect Heroes 4, releasing in Spring 2017) Each book can be read as a standalone, however, this is the recommended reading order.

Make Me Shine


Elodie Colt - 2020
    After all, as a divorced man at the age of thirty-two, "blind sex" sounded like a nice distraction.Her code name is Devon. She’s my faceless fantasy. A diamond in a world full of rhinestones. I don't know what she looks like.I don’t know where she lives.I don't know her name.I will never know these things.And if I'm not careful, I might fall for a woman who's just a ghost in the dark. ELLANew name. New identity. Old demons.After escaping two years in hell, this fancy dating program was supposed to be my therapy.His code name is Ross. He makes me feel alive again. Every night we share at Silent Sins, our bond grows stronger.And he’s hell-bent on meeting me in person, throwing our anonymity away, and taking me on a real date.I want to do it.But my demons? They never sleep.

Moving On


Trisha Grace - 2012
    After the horrific accident that took away his parents’ life, Tyler’s grandfather removed him from the mansion and sent him away.Now, after twenty years, his grandfather had passed away and he could finally go home. However, even in his death, Tyler’s grandfather had betrayed him once again, leaving the mansion to a woman he had never met.Even though Kate Mitchell had never met Tyler, she knew all about the accident that changed the Hayes’s family. Unbeknownst to her, was how she was going to end up being caught in the middle of a long estranged relationship between two different generations.Two complete different personalities would have to learn to get along and play nice in order to survive a will that would change their lives.